Where We Go

You can take part in more than 35 different Noshwalks. Most are offered on the regular schedule just once a year ~ a few are offered twice. Others are available as custom tours only.

New Noshwalks are constantly being developed and existing Noshwalks are regularly updated to adjust to neighborhood changes and new markets, bakeries, and other finds.

 

BRONX

Cheese makers at Joe's Deli in Belmont

Belmont
This tour of century-old Little Italy of the Bronx visits this neighborhood’s famous indoor market, restaurants, cheese shops & bakeries. We will see mozzarella made vy hand and view the coal-burning oven of Belmont’s oldest bread bakery, founded at the end of the 19th century. This tour now also includes a brief stop at a new barbecue restaurant and, weather permitting, we buy homemade tamales from a local Mexican vendor.

Bronx Bites
In this tour, we take people to three different areas to experience the diversity of the Bronx – and also to show how it is changing in exciting ways. We begin near Yankee Stadium and walk along the Grand Concourse to the newly renovated Bronx Museum of the Arts. In this neighborhood is a thick cluster of West African restaurants and markets, and we have lunch in a Ghanaian eatery. From here, we take the bus to another neighborhood where we visit one of the best Mexican markets in the Bronx (and sample Mexican ices, some of which are flavored with hot chili) and have an espresso coffee in a Dominican restaurant. Finally, we head to Irish Woodlawn, where, after tasting Irish trifle, we conclude our tour in a large, busy pub.

Ghanaian lunch in the Bronx

New Bronx City
This tour explores two quite different neighborhoods in the central Bronx with delicious food and tantalizing sights. Our tour includes one of New York City’s last great movie palaces, a landmarked bank building that includes five murals depicting the early Bronx painted during the Works Progress Administration in  the 1930s, and Poe Cottage—Edgar Allan Poe’s last residence—and a look at the newest library in the Bronx, a stunning “green” building which is also a crossroads in this very diverse borough. Food visits include a Dominican bakery (think:delicious café con leche and flan!) and possibly the only Cambodian market in NYC as well as two unusual African and West Indian markets. We’ll then take a short bus ride to a neighborhood where we’ll have Pakistani appetizers and Albanian bureks! For dessert, we will head to the nearby Morris Park neighborhood for Italian gelato and espresso!

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BROOKLYN

Atlantic Avenue
This tour covers a famous block of Atlantic Avenue renown for its great Middle Eastern markets and Eateries. This block was known in the 1930s as “Little Syria,” as it was packed with shops owned by families that had originally established outposts in a lower Manhattan area known as Washington Market. When the Washington Market was demolished to build the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, these families relocated their businesses to downtown Brooklyn, which was then a short ferry ride from lower Manhattan. Although many of the families now live in Bay Ridge, their markets continue to thrive and, as in the case of Sahadis, become more international in scope. At present, this tour is combined with a visit to the Latin American area of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where we take food bought in both neighborhoods to Sunset Park itself for a picnic.

Mother-daughter team of Helena Bakke and Arlene Rutuelo offer the best homestyle Norwegian specialties as well as a top selection of Scandinavian imports at their Bay Ridge store Nordic Delicacies, which sells nationwide through a catalog and Web site.

Bay Ridge
Known for its Scandinavian seafaring tradition, Bay Ridge is now a truly multi-ethnic community filled with culinary treasures. Markets or bakeries we’ll visit include Norwegian, Italian, Moroccan, Danish, Turkish, French & Lebanese. 

Delicious food in Bay Ridge

We’ll examine the contrasts between the older immigrant communities and the newcomers, and sample some of the more unuusal foods you’ll find in season – for instance, fresh garbanzos or fresh almonds, which are nothing like the usual version! An extended tour can include a walk through some of Bay Ridge’s leafy masnion areas and a visit to its Botanical Garden.  The gardens are included on the map.

Bensonhurst
Although 18th Avenue, the main boulevard of Bensonhurst, is known as Cristofor Colombo Boulevard, this neighborhood is no longer as densely Italian as it once was, and this tour has evolved to include more of Bensonhurst current rich cultural mix, including Turkish, Polish, Russian, & Chinese markets & bakeries, a well as an Italian café, where the tour begins, and a well-known Italian cheese maker. Have a Vietnamese avocado milkshake and Turkish appetizers or kebabs at the end! 

Brighton Beach
Memorialized by Neil Simon in his autobiographical play, Brighton Beach offers the best of New York by combining delicious food and a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean. Coney Island is within walking distance, so you can head there after the tour. (The famous Cyclone and Parachute jump are visible from the Boardwalk.) Come on an empty stomach as we savor Ukrainian, Russian, Georgian, Uzbek, Turkish and other foods and flavors in this amazing neighborhood. Includes Brighton Beach Avenue and the Boardwalk

Caribbean Brooklyn

This tour, introduced in 2010, combines a celebration of the culinary delights of Guyana, Trinidad, and Jamaica (and possibly Haiti and Barbados) with an exploration of the history and architectural delights of this busy area of Prospect-Lefferts and Flatbush, Brooklyn. Located near the southwest corner of Prospect Park, we head down Flatbush Avenue and along Church Avenue, weaving our way into markets and eateries, sampling Caribbean "finger foods" (various types of patties and Indo-Caribbean appetizers), Jamaican style ice cream, roti, doubles, curried vegetables, ginger beer and more. We'll visit the indoor Caton-Flatbush market, fascinating incubator of small businesses. A highlight of this tour is a visit to a "backyard" restaurant that will make you think you're in Jamaica! While tasting, we also see and discuss a number of historic sites in the area, including Erasmus Hall High School, the Flatbush Reformed Church (dating to the 17th century), an historic pair of streets with British-style homes that include some of the first driveways for private cars in NYC, and more... If done on a Sunday as a longer tour, this Noshwalk can include a visit to the Chassidic area of Crown Heights.

Dyker Heights
Our annual Dyker Heights tour takes place in the evening a few days before Christmas, so that we can combine a visit to the unique (and way-over-the-top) holiday decorations of the neighborhood with gourmet treats at a fabulous café and various appetizers at one of Dyker Heights’ best pizzerias.

ACME Smoked Fish factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Greenpoint
This tour, usually offered as a Friday summer tour, includes a visit to the famous ACME smoked fish factory (open to retail customers Fridays only) as well as markets, where we’ll taste kielbasa, pierogi, fruit soup and other specialties n this mainly Polish area. We’ll conclude (after Acme) with a wonderful lunch. Bring a freezer bag!

Sunset Park
You’ll revel in this area’s ethnic and architectural diversity! Food stops include Chinese, Turkish and Mexican markets, bubble tea and Chinese ice cream; Thai basil seed drink; the cheapest espresso in NYC and more! Weather permitting, the tour concludes with a picnic in Sunset Park. 

Three Kosher Tours

Tour 1: Borough Park
This tour is scheduled several weeks before Passover, so that we can include visits to two shmura matzoh factory as well as sample the various kosher specialties in the area. We meet at Borough Park’s largest Jewish bookstore, where you’ll have time to browse before we start walking. Although this area is most commonly associated with Polish and Hungarian Chasidim, it also has several kosher Uzbek restaurants and an Uzbek bakery.

Tour 2: Sephardic Kings Highway
We’ll visit some of this neighborhood’s Syrian and Israeli style bakeries and markets, plus local Sephardic landmarks and its lovely residential area.  In the past we’ve visited two synagogues and expect to do the same this time around. With more time, we’ll one of Brooklyn’s newest kosher supermarkets, sometimes referred to as the kosher “Whole Foods.” A great book to read for background on this neighborhood is Lucette Lagnado’s memoir “The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit.” She was born and raised in Cairo’s affluent Egyptian community (many of whose members had roots in the Syrian Jewish community) but joined the exodus of families from Egypt that eventually settled in Brooklyn.

Tour 3: Williamsburg
This tour highlights the kosher bakeries & markets of Chasidic Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which combines traditional Jewish cookery with contemporary food adaptations. The tour combines history & architectural insights with delicious food. We often create a mini-picnic in a local playground with a selection of great appetizers, challah and other bread, and fresh fruit. Later, we’ll have kugel and blintzes!

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QUEENS

Arepas Cafe in Astoria. Owner Ricardo Romer in center with orange shirt.

Astoria (Two tours)

Tour 1: “It’s Greek to Me – and then some!”
You’ll see Greek, south Asian, Colombian, Middle European & other ethnic restaurants, bakeries & markets in this popular neighborhood as we explore shops and snackeries along 30th Ave., the North African/Middle Eastern stretch of Steinway St., and Astoria Boulevard. Our last stop include a huge Greek supermarket and a new Bosnian kebab place. 

Tour 2: The Other Astoria
This tour covers a section of Astoria that includes several Brazilian markets, as well as Venezuelan, Greek, French,  Mexican, Balkan, Ukrainian and other specialties. We also pass and discuss the historic Kaufman Studios & the Museum of the Moving Image.

Elmhurst                                                                       

Enjoying good soup in Elmhurst

Some call this area NYC’s 4th Chinatown—but it’s actually a lot more! We’ll taste Chinese, Korean, Thai & Indonesian food, and feast on the many amazing markets in this area. Highlights include a visit to a Thai Buddhist temple and a Chinese dumpling shop where we can see noodles made by hand. An old-fashioned French bakery manages to thrive amidst the Asian shops.

Flushing (Two tours)

Tour 1: Asian Flushing  
This popular tour, often done in partnership with the Queens Botanical Garden, gives you a chance to experience a wide range of Asian food. We’ll visit Indian, Afghan, Chinese and Korean markets, but some of the markets we’ll visit look more like something you’d expect to see in a Chinese city, as we weave through maze-like paths to get to our final destination:a noodle shop we’re you’ll see beautiful thin noodles emerge from slabs of dough as if by magic. We’ll also see some of the most remarkable murals painted in all of New York City – on the walls of the Flushing post office!

Tour 2: Israeli Flushing
Horse-radish ice cream? The best falafel you’ve ever had? And a spice market unlike any other in NYC? These are just some of the food highlights of the Israeli/Orthodox Jewish section of kosher Flushing (also known as Kew Gardens Hills).  Note: This tour is usually offered as a custom tour only.

Colombian cholados in Jackson Heights

Jackson Heights (Three tours)

Tour 1: Latin American Jackson Heights
In the Latin American version of this tour we nosh our way along the culinary boulevards of Roosevelt & 37th Aves and sample specialties of Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador and Argentina. The description may be short – but the experience is always quite overwhelming, as we sample cholados, arepas, Uruguayan arrollados, Argentinian sausage with chimchurri sauce, and conclude at an Ecuadorean restaurant. 

Tour 2: South Asian Jackson Heights
This  tour focuses on South Asian markets & eateries, which now include Burmese, Tibetan, Nepali, Thai and Indian-Chinese as well as the better known Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Afghan places. We’ll also visit the Jackson Heights Beautification District . 

Tour 3: Jackson Heights combo
As a custom tour, a combined South Asian-Latin American walk begins with Pakistani samosas, followed by Nepali dumplings and Indian ice cream, and then proceeds across the ocean – and “south of the border” – to the Latin American Jackson Heights.

Jamaica  
This tour highlights the history and diversity of the neighborhood known for its hip-hop tradition and roots dating to the Revolutionary War. Among our visits will be a Revolutionary War era graveyard where we’ll find the tombstone of Rufus King, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, and then see his “summer home” - Rufus King Manor—which sits in the center of downtown Jamaica. Tastes include Salvadoran, West Indian, Colombian, Bangladeshi & more! In warm weather, we conclude with Filipino ice cream or South African (yes, South African) ices that we buy at a Bangladeshi bakery.

Enjoying ices at Lemon King in Corona

Rego Park  
This tour takes you along a portion of New York City's own "silk route," where we'll find a shopper's and taster's delight at Uzbek, Tadjik, Persian and Russian markets and bakeries. We'll stop for kebabs and a loaf of one of the most delicious breads in New York City! Then we'll veer towards another continent - in Corona - where we'll prepare our palate for new tastes by stopping at the famous Lemon Ice King and then making our way to Latin America: a tortilla factory and a finale with delicious tastes from Ecuador. This tour is longer than most Noshwalks - more than four hours - and costs more.

Richmond Hill   (and a Slice of Jamaica)
Wear a good pair of walking shoes for this tour of the markets plus a roti lunch in New York’s Little Guyana, where Guyanese, Trinidadian, Latin American, Indian and Chinese influences blend and collide. We’ll then walk (10 minutes) to south west Jamaica to see NYC’s small Portuguese enclave for dessert.  This section of Jamaica is not featured in the Jamaica NoshWalk.

Ridgewood  
This tour is normally scheduled just before Easter, when Ridgewood bustles with activity, including chocolate making at the wondrous Rudy’s Bakery, which has been around for some 80 years. Foodies haven’t descended on Ridgewood yet, so, for the time being, Noshwalkers have the  special pleasure of tasting delicious gelati, Bulgarian specialties. Bosnian kebabs  and other culinary pleasures of the area, which has NYC’s fastest-growing Polish community, as well as Balkan, Dominican, Mexican and Italian markets —and one Egyptian cafe.

Sunnyside
Sunnyside is where NoshNews began—one of the most polyglot neighborhoods in NYC. We’ll sample Peruvian, Colombian, Romanian, Salvadoran, Lebanese, Turkish, Irish and other specialties. Time permitting, We’ll visit Sunnyside Gardens, the first planned garden community in the US.

Woodside
We’ll cross continents (and overeat) as we wander through one of the  most diverse neighborhoods in Queens, including New York City’s “Little Manila,” “Little Dublin” and bits of Mexico, France, China, Uruguay, Thailand, Korea, Cuba and more!  

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MANHATTAN

Enjoying papas rellenos in East Harlem

East Harlem
Cuchifritos, Mexican treats, French pastries, NYC’s best pizza and the historic Dance of the Giglio—an East Harlem tradition dating back almost a century. The tour begins at the Malcolm Shabazz Market, where West African vendors who have made their home in the area sell textiles, crafts, jewelry and other items..

Central Harlem (3 possible routes)
Tour 1: Delicious Harlem 
This is the most popular of the three Harlem Noshwalks. On this tour we will explore Harlem’s fast-changing western fringe along Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevards, where there are tastes of Ghana, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica—and more – and interesting changes under way as Harlem continues to develop.

Tour 2: Focus on Mount Morris Park Historic District
This route focuses on the diverse food, rich history and culture of Harlem's Mount Morris Park Historic District. Stops include bakeries, markets that feature Caribbean & West African specialties, and a Caribbean juice bar.  This tour provides the best opportunity to see Harlem’s dramatic evolution in the past two decades.

Tour 3: Harlem Renaissance tour
This tour focuses on the historic hub of Harlem’s 1920s/1930s Renaissance around 135th Street, where a new Renaissance is under way. We combine visits to bakeries, markets and other eateries with highlights of this area’s many landmarks, including famous churches. We have lunch at a West African buffet, with some of the best ginger beer in NYC.

Slices of Midtown
Korean, Persian and South Asian food are the edible attractions in this cluttered and busy “slice” of Manhattan, which combines Manhattan’s Koreatown with a neighborhood known as “Curry Hill.” This tour also features architectural treasures (increasingly hidden, alas, in the area’s proliferating highrises.)

You can sample chocolate tapioca milk, just like this adorable little girl is doing, in Chinese and Korean bakeries and cafes in Flushing. OK, I admit it: This is a photo of my daughter when she was much younger and came along on my Flushing tours!

Lower East Side & Chinatown
This tour combines local history with visits to candy stores, bakeries,  appetizing shops, Chinese markets and Little Italy’s best store. We also pass through several historic sites, including the Eldridge Street Synagogue Museum. As a custom tour during the week, it also includes the Essex Street Market, which is closed on Sunday, the day when it is scheduled as a Noshwalk. Future versions of this tour will offer information on new museums focusing on New York City’s Chinese and Italian immigrants, both within walking distance of the last stop on our tour.

Upper West Side
This eclectic tour highlights history and food venues between 97th and 116th Streets, mainly along Amsterdam Avenue. Be prepared for tastes of Ethiopia, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, India, & Hungary!  The tour also highlights landmarks of the Columbia University campus (where we meet) and the famous Cathedral of St. John the Divine, where you’ll see some surprising sculptural work.

Washington Heights

Tour 1: Southern Washington Heights

In addition to noshing, this tour includes Audubon Terrace, an unusual museum complex; the uptown Trinity Church Cemetery, where naturalist John Jay Audubon is buried; theMalcolm X Memorial; and NYC’s oldest residence, dating from Revolutionary War days. The tasting on this tour is primarily Caribbean and Central American – and definitely delicious! It concludes at one of the best Dominican restaurants in NYC.

Tour 2: Northern Washington Heights

This tour of upper Washington Heights is scheduled to coincide with the annual Medeival Festival in Fort Tryon Park near the Cloisters, New York City’s own collection of European medieval art  and church cloisters (a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art). The food is a four course feast of Dominican, Salvadoran, kosher Russian, and more, and includes . We’ll conclude at Fort Tryon Park, where you can enjoy the festival (which is free). On occasion, this tour also includes a visit inside one of New York City’s landmarked movie theaters dating from the late 1920s- and this one has the original architecture and design and is simply extraordinary to see!

Yorkville – (custom tour only)
Within New York’s Upper East Side, you can still find pockets of its famous East European heritage. We’ll visit bakeries, markets and cafes, plus landmark sights that remain in the neighborhood.  In particular, this tour highlights German and Hungarian markets and related institutions that continue to operate amidst massive change.

Staten Island dosa

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STATEN ISLAND

Victory Boulevard’s immigrant mix

In this cozy corner of Staten Island known as Tompkinsville, you’ll see Sri Lankan, Albanian, Mexican, Jamaican, Polish, Honduran and Nigerian restaurant and markets – and more! It’s a short distance from the ferry, rich in history in its own right.

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